It was a rough day on the farm with the Royals affiliates losing all six games played to completion on Monday.
HR Roll Call: Chase Vallot 2 (9, 10), Dennicher Carrasco (2)
BPKC Hitter of the Day: Chase Vallot 2-3, 3R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB
BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Wilmer Jimenez 5.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 6-2 GO-FO
Colorado Springs Sky Sox 14, Omaha Storm Chasers 3
The light air of Colorado didn’t do any favors to the Chasers pitching staff in a romp in Colorado Springs.
Starter Eric Skoglund, relievers Kyle Zimmer and Brian Flynn all got touched up for four or more runs on their night. One of the Brewers top prospects, outfielder Lewis Brinson, played a big role for the Sky Sox going 4 for 4 with a pair of doubles and a home run to drive in three and score two more. In addition to Brinson, three other players hit home runs with Colorado Springs piling on 19 hits and 14 runs. Fortunately for Omaha, fireballing reliever/catcher Brayan Pena shut things down for the final inning and one-third.
The middle of the Omaha order held their own with eight hits from the 3-4-5 spot, but no one outside those three was able to muster an extra base hit. Outfielder Jorge Soler continued his hot hitting with a pair of hits and a walk in the loss.
Cam Gallagher 3-5, 2b, 3 RBI
Jorge Soler 2-4, 2R, BB
Ryan O’Hearn 3-4, R, 2b, BB
Frederick Keys 8, Wilmington Blue Rocks 6
The Rocks couldn’t do enough damage with the 15 hits and six walks that they acquired in Frederick, going 4 for 13 with runners in scoring position to come up short.
Catcher Chaser Vallot clubbed a pair of home runs and scored three times to help pace the offense. Outfielder Brandon Downes scored a run and drove in another with his three-hit day.
Starter Andres Machado struggled with six runs allowed in five innings, giving up eight hits before reliever Jacob Bodner gave up two more in the loss.
Brandon Downes 3-5, R, 2-2b, RBI
Wander Franco 1-4, R, RBI, BB
Roman Collins 2-5, R
Columbia Fireflies 4, Lexington Legends 0
The Legends Jace Vines failed to complete six innings for the first time in six starts while the Legends offense struggled in their second half home opener against Columbia.
The Legends offense had just six singles and went 1 for 5 with runners in scoring position in getting blanked by Columbia for the fourth time in twelve games against the Mets Low-A affiliate.
The Legends All-Star participant, Vines, gave up eight hits and three walks in 5.2 IP as the Fireflies got after him. The righty continued to create groundballs though, getting 10 groundouts, but they got four hits through on the ground and got him to elevate on the home run after he hit a batter in the third inning. The loss for Vines was just his third in 15 games and 11 starts.
Khalil Lee 1-4, CS (13)
Emmanuel Rivera 1-4, hitting .299
Jace Vines 5.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 10-2 GO-FO, 100p/59k
Grand Junction Rockies 9, Idaho Falls Chukars 4
The longballs were flying for Grand Junction in their first visit to Idaho Falls on Monday night. The Rockies rookie squad clubbed five home runs en route to a win.
The game was tied at four after starter Jeremy Gwinn gave up his second home run after giving up three runs early before righting the ship to get through six innings with seven strikeouts.
While the Rockies staff settled things down, limiting Idaho Falls to two hits and walk, the Grand Junction bats got after Janser Lara, connecting on three home runs in three innings for five runs to put the game well out of reach.
Jeremy Gwinn 6 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 3-4 GO-FO, 76p/55k
Janser Lara 3 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 29p/20k
Offerman Collado 2-5, R
Burlington Royals 12, Bluefield Blue Jays 3 Susp/6
The Royals offense found a groove before the rains came and the umps were forced to suspend the game.
All nine hitters in the lineup had at least one hit in the six innings completed. Youngsters Seuly Matias and Sebastian Rivero each had a pair of knocks while teammate Jeison Guzman tacked on three hits with a triple and a run driven in and scored.
Starting pitcher Carlos Hernandez was in line for the win after five innings, allowing three runs (2 ER) with five strikeouts.
Seuly Matias 2-4, R, 2 RBI
Jeison Guzman 3-4, R, 3b, RBI
Michael Gigliotti 2-4, 2R, 3b, 3 RBI
AZL Rangers 20, AZL Royals 6
Whoa, that really escalated. Starter Nolan Watson couldn’t retire a hitter in a rehab start, walking a pair and allowing two hits before the pen got worked over. All four hitters came in to score as lefty reliever Joey Markus also struggled, allowing six more runs in his two innings of work. Markus and Watson had their issues, but former Yankees prospect Kevin Magallanes was the one who had the roughest time, allowing eight runs in an inning and two-thirds to allow the Rangers to get to 20 runs on the night.
On offense, first round draft pick Nick Pratto collected his first professional hit with a double to right-center and scored once in his five plate appearances. Catcher MJ Melendez collected a pair of hits and a couple of RBI as the Royals squad came up a couple touchdowns short.
Nick Pratto 1-4, R, 2b, BB
Esteury Ruiz 1-5, R, 2b, RBI
Damon Olds 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
DSL Rays1 1, DSL Royals 0
The Royals pitching staff gave up just two hits on Monday but one of them left the park, accounting for the only run of the game.
Starting pitcher Wilmer Jimenez gave up a first inning home run to Raider Brito for the only hit he allowed in 5.2 innings. The 19-year-old left-handed pitcher earned six strikeouts while avoiding any walks.
The offense picked up six hits but couldn’t get a anything to leave the infield with runners in scoring position, twice connecting on infield hits with a runner on second but failing to score anyone.
Reynin Reynoso 2-4, 2b
Edickson Soto 3-4
Kelvin Gonzalez 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 2-0 GO-FO
Glad to see royals picked up B Pena in the offseason. He used to be able to play a little OF and corner IF, but he is even a fireballer now. Good guy to call up in September when rosters expand.
When will Ned quit running JV lineups out there on Sundays? Rest guys throughout the week, even if it means they do not get 2 days off in a row. Royals need to compete every day if Indians ever start playing well. And please do not tell us that Esky will start every game again this year. Keep Torres in KC.
I doubt Ned will change the Sunday lineups, guys need days off.